Tag Archives: TNT

Rebecca Romijn is looking pretty fierce, kicking butt and saving treasures in TNT’s “Librarians” series that launches Dec. 7 — a feat all the more remarkable considering the kind of schedule she was keeping through much of the production in Portland, Oregon.

“My husband was doing a play in New York and my girls had to finish up their school year, so their grandparents actually came and moved into our house with them and helped them, and I flew homeevery weekend from Portland to be with them,” reports the gorgeous actress of “X-Men” and “Ugly Betty” fame.

Referring to her and husband Jerry O’Connell’s twin daughters, she goes on with a laugh, “Taking care of two 5-year-olds for a weekend is not how you recover from a 90-hour work week. On Mother’s Day weekend, we shot till like 5:30 in the morning. I took a 6:30 a.m. flight home Saturday to spend Mother’s Day weekend with my kids. I was exhausted. I got right into bed and I had my girls with me and they were like, ‘It’s Mother’s Day! Can we go to the merry go round at the mall?’ ‘Hey, it’s Mother’s Day! Can we go to the bowling alley?’ And I was like, ‘How about, ‘It’s Mother’s Day. Let’s stay in bed and watch movies all weekend.’

“It was so tiring, but it was so worth it. And so much fun once they all got up there.”

Romijn also notes, “I enjoy work so much and I want my girls to see that and also sort of be a part of it. I have fun when I’m not working, too, but I’m really happy when I’m working and I want my girls to see that and hopefully be a role model for them.”

According to her, when it comes to spending time setside, Dolly and Charlie “love it. At this point, they don’t think there’s anything strange about it. They’re young enough where they — I think they assume everybody’s mommy and daddy does this.”

Does she foresee her daughters going into acting? “You know, there are some things that are out of our control. They may, and once they finish school they can do whatever they want,” says Romijn, “but as far as I’m concerned, nothing happens until they’re 18.

They can do as much acting in school as they want, but professional acting has to wait. That’s the deal my parents made with me.”

There was plenty for Charlie and Dolly to see around the “Librarians” sets. Taking off from the hit TNT franchise, this series has Noah Wyle’s character now aided by four more Librarians in the great quest to safeguard, preserve, defend, get back and otherwise curate fabled antiquities from supernatural forces. John Larroquette, Christian Kane, Lindy Booth and John Kim star along with Romijn. Wyle recurs and exec produces, and Bob Newhart and Jane Curtin are seen as well. The series keeps the same big, fun-loving tone as its predecessor movies.

“It’s as Noah Wyle put it: ‘Indiana Jones’ as if ‘Indiana Jones’ was being played by Don Knotts,” notes Romijn.

Her character is referred to as the “brawn” of the outfit, and she’s quite pleased about that. “I love it! I mean it’s such a fantastic time in television and movies with all these girls that can kick butt. I’ve gotten to play a few of these characters now that are sort of butt-kickers, and it’s an honor,” she says.

As far as preparation, of course, as the unforgettable blue Mystique of “X Men,” she had “done a lot of fight sequences.” Then, “Right before I got ‘Librarians,’ I had a series on TNT called ‘King & Maxwell’ and I had martial arts and weapons training for that. That was still fresh in my body, so I rolled all that training into this character.”

She was offered “Librarians” by franchise creator Dean Devlin, who is also exec producing the series. “He was working with TNT at the time, and I had a great relationship with TNT so it felt like a no-brainer, a marriage made in heaven.”

As for the future, and the prospective Jerry-and-Rebecca talk show that’s already getting attention? Romijn says, “That’s not official. There’s nothing to announce. We did a pilot, but there’s nothing to say about it yet.” Still, if it did come to pass that she and her witty mate try their hands at a chat show, “They did schedule it I would still be able to do ‘Librarians.'”

Phillip P. Keene — that’s hunky surveillance expert Buzz Watson to fans of “The Closer” and “Major Crimes” — plays things close to the chest when it comes to divulging what is ahead for his hugely popular TV homicide investigating team. As the current season continues to unspool on TNT, “I can say we will see dead people,” he notes playfully.

The actor and former Pan Am flight attendant also plays things close to the chest when it comes to chatting about his work life at home and vice-versa. “It works out best that way,” he says — especially since his husband happens to be show creator/executive producer James Duff. They’ve been together for 21 years.

“I have an interesting position here, being one of the cast members and also being so close to one of the executive producers and creators of the show. I’m one of the godfathers to other creators’ children. I’ve got to walk pretty nimbly,” he notes. “I really do try to keep things as separate as I possibly can.”

How does that work? Well, some cast matters never leave the soundstage — not with Keene, anyway — according to him. Duff, meanwhile, “is in the office most of the time, not down on the set,” Keene points out. “When it’s time to be at home together, we give each other space. There are a lot of ways. Sometimes he’ll start conversations on the telephone, and I’ll just walk away. If I don’t see it, I don’t know about it, I can’t talk about it.”

At this point, such I-know-nothing moments are second nature for the affable actor — after seven seasons of “The Closer” and three of “Major Crimes.”
He’s enjoying his gig as much as ever, even after 10 years. “I guess the best part for me is I get to stay and play with the people I like being around,” he says. “We’ve really bonded as a family unit.”

With so much focus on the loss of Larry Hagman – and the death and funeral of his dastardly TV alter ego, J.R. Ewing – as the second season of TNT’s “Dallas” gets underway this week, one can’t help but wonder whether the show can go on once they’re finished saying goodbye.

Jesse Metcalfe is convinced it can. Asked if he thinks there will be a Season 3, the handsome 34-year-old actor now known to “Dallas” fans as Christopher Ewing answers flatly, “I know it will happen.

“Obviously, I don’t have that information yet from the powers that be,” he adds. “But I feel strongly that this is a hit show and that the ensemble of actors we have is incredibly talented. We all have great chemistry, and the writing is very strong.”

He acknowledges, “Yes, it was Larry Hagman’s show. He was the heart and soul of the show — by far the most popular character on the show. Most people identify the show with J.R. Ewing. I thought we would have more time with Larry, and that time was definitely cut short. But the writers and the producers and of course the actors are doing everything they can to honor Larry and honor J.R. and do everything in the best way that they can. And that’s why they’ve succeeded in producing some of the most entertaining episodes. Out of a very tragic event comes some very exciting television — and I don’t think Larry would have wanted it any other way.”

Indeed. With show re-creator Cynthia Cidre having revealed that J.R.’s death will not be from natural causes, Hagman will posthumously rack up what will, in all probability, be the distinction of playing the only TV character to have not one, but two major murder mysteries surrounding him. Of course you’ll recall the ratings record-breaking “Who Shot J.R.?” of 1980.

The storylines involving the younger generation of Ewings are rolling on as well. Christopher, the ecology-minded, adopted son of nice guy Bobby (Patrick Duffy), has won back the lovely Elena (Jordana Brewster) from J.R.’s ever-more-craven oilman son John Ross (Josh Henderson) — and the cousins are fighting for control of their Ewing Energies company.

“Elena and Christopher are still in the honeymoon stage of their rekindled romance, and certainly John Ross is not very happy about that. He gets his digs in wherever he can,” Metcalfe relates. “But for at least the first half of the second season Elena and Christopher are pretty solid. I’d say the first season was more raw emotions, the second season is more of a chess match. And obviously, we’re always in each other’s faces — we’re all living in the same place, Southfork, and working in the same place, Ewing Energies.”

The “Dallas” team certainly doesn’t have THAT degree of closeness, but the cast members do stay in Dallas condos while shooting is underway, they do hang out together, they do sound fond of each other. Metcalfe says, “If anything, we’ve all grown closer in the wake of Larry’s death.“

The Carmel Valley, California-born actor, who gained public attention as sexy teenage gardener John Rowland on “Desperate Housewives” — and went on to big screen success with “John Tucker Must Die” — makes it clear he cares very much about the “Dallas” fans. In fact, he sounds downright affectionate toward those who “stuck with the original show through all 13 seasons and now are staying with our show. You feel a responsibility toward them.” He says he hasn’t found any downside to his newfound “Dallas” fame – here or overseas. The show is a huge hit in the U.K. and elsewhere.

But fame does have its, um, distractions. For instance, it’s been widely reported Metcalfe is engaged to the beautiful Cara Santana. But he says, “No, I’m not getting married. I have a very serious girlfriend but that’s just a piece of misinformation that keeps reappearing.” He laughs, “As if there wasn’t enough pressure already.”

This season’s shooting will wrap in April, and Metcalfe would like to find a juicy new assignment, he says. In fact, “All of us are looking for hiatus projects. I’d just like a piece of material that feels right for me, a story I want to tell. That’s a great thing about being on a cable show. It’s not that rigorous a schedule. It’s intense while you’re shooting it, but it’s only 15 episodes. The first season was 10, now we’re lucky enough to get 15. But it’s still only six months of the year – very different from a 22-episode season.”

So, he wouldn’t mind continuing to play Christopher on and on?

“I think the viewers are going to be very pleased with Season 2,” he says. “So I don’t see any reason why there won’t be a third, a fourth, and probably a fifth season.”